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Problematic crossovers in cancer drug trials

Crossover in a randomized trial can skew the interpretation of the efficacy of a cancer drug. In this Comment, I use examples from clinical trials presented at the 2023 ASCO annual meeting to highlight why ‘allowing’ crossover in randomized trials testing cancer drugs is problematic, and propose that crossovers should either be mandated or prohibited depending on the context.

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Acknowledgements

B.G. receives salary support from Ontario Institute for Cancer Research funded by the Government of Ontario. The opinions expressed herein represent the author’s own opinions, and not those of the Government of Ontario.

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Correspondence to Bishal Gyawali.

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B.G. has acted as a consultant of Vivio Health.

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Gyawali, B. Problematic crossovers in cancer drug trials. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 20, 815–816 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-023-00805-7

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